Fully Automatic Box-Opening Machine Operating Stably

It felt like falling into a deep sleep in a bathtub, or like returning to the embrace of one's mother when one was a child.

In a faint sense of peace, Isabel felt her consciousness gradually sinking into the sea of nothingness.

She could still vaguely feel the lingering taste of the Drunken Dream Tincture in her mouth, slowly seeping into her nasal cavity from deep in her throat.

The rich aroma of the wine is mixed with the fragrance of sesame and Luo Le leaves, and you can also faintly taste a very distinct earthy flavor.

—Like chewing on the soil after a spring rain. Or like boiling tender asparagus and eating it with wine.

The thought suddenly popped into Isabel's mind, and she instinctively felt pleased that she had found this metaphor.

When she woke up again, she found herself sitting in the third seat.

Isabel turned her head and saw that familiar figure in the first spot—

He wore a pale white Clerical Robe and leaned casually back in his chair. His left arm, resting on the armrest, propped up his chin, while his right hand rested casually in front of him.

He hid the Flame Butterfly in the cuff of his right sleeve—the scattered sparks made his cuff look like a campfire spewing sparks.

Even though his face was blurry, Isabel still recognized Iver's identity with ease.

Isabel breathed a sigh of relief when she confirmed that Iver was also there.

She is no longer as timid and fearful as she was at the beginning... If she hadn't seen Iver when she entered this time, she probably would have felt anxious and uneasy.

Even so, being matched with someone you know is definitely a good thing.

That's better than working with strangers—those who are unknown and whose true nature is hard to see through, and after the ceremony, you'll basically never see them again.

In this situation, if you blindly trust them, you might be betrayed at a crucial moment.

... But isn't Sherlock here this time?

As Isabel thought this, she glanced around. She discovered that her worries had actually come true.

—Little Sherlock didn't actually come in.

Although Isabel was quite confident in herself, she still believed that Sherlock was definitely stronger than her.

If Sherlock were to enter this Promotion Ritual, she would likely be placed further down the list Sherlock.

Even though the order of seating in Promotion Ritual may not strictly represent the degree of power or weakness, it is still an important reference.

Between Isabel and Iver sat a middle-aged man with upright posture, who exuded a calm and reliable aura like a rock.

His physique could be described as strong; his arms were even thicker than Isabel's thighs.

The man was very polite. After Isabel appeared, he did not immediately look at her or rudely search for information with his eyes; instead, he closed his eyes to rest.

Of course, there's no need to close your eyes and rest in a dream. This simply means that you "have no intention of prying into other people's secrets."

Shortly after Isabel appeared, a new person suddenly appeared to her right.

It was an old man—he was dressed in Parthian Style attire, wearing a white robe that covered his hands and feet, and a white headscarf and scarf on his head.

Even in the Promotion Ritual where his face was blurred, none of his specific features could be seen at all—the only features visible were the area above his nose and below his eyebrows.

Isabel stared at him intently, but her brows furrowed slightly.

... The Parthians?

That's not quite right.

The Promotion Ritual centered around Iver has not yet been extended to other areas, meaning that most of the participants are currently in Avalon, or even on Glass Island. There are very few Parthians on Glass Island.

"Could it be Mr. Ibn?" This thought popped into Isabel's mind.

The ritual master who has been in the Silver and Tin Palace since the time of Queen Sophia is now at the Third Level.

Anyway, we'll find out when the time comes. Even if the Promotion Ritual will blur the participants' voices, some speaking habits won't change much— Isabel is confident she can tell who the other person is.

But if it was Old Ibn, why would he specifically wear Parthians clothes? And why did Ibn appear so late... In Isabel's mind, his power should be greater than hers.

"Hello, my name is Lu Lu. I am an advanced practitioner on the Path of Beauty, skilled at supporting teammates and providing buffs to my companions."

Thinking this, Isabel took the initiative to ask the old man beside her, "Sir... how should we address you?"

Upon hearing her question, the man sitting to Isabel's left suddenly opened his eyes and looked over with some confusion.

The hunched old man just chuckled and didn't look directly at Isabel.

He replied meekly, "My name is Olive, Miss Lu Lu. An ascensionist who Path of Transcendence."

" —Path of Transcendence?"

This question wasn't asked by Isabel.

It was the man sitting between Iver and Isabel who suddenly asked the question.

His gaze was sharp as an eagle's, and he asked without any hesitation or politeness, "There aren't many legitimate Transcender in Avalon. Which side are you on? Or are you one of the illegitimate ones?"

"Judging from your attire, are you an illegal immigrant?"

As soon as the man spoke, the other three raised their heads and looked at him with silent and somewhat strange eyes.

But the man remained unmoved in the face of these gazes.

Ignoring the gazes of the other two, he first gave a slight nod of respect to Iver was dressed in a priest's robe, and then said frankly, "You can call me ' Pirate' —I am a Third Level observer. I am skilled in scimitars, longswords, crossbows, and unarmed combat, and I am proficient in the 'guardian' and 'challenge' fighting styles. If a battle ensues, I will be your shield."

Apart from his first sentence, all his subsequent words were addressed to Iver.

The "Pirate" were very clear about their purpose.

Whether it is the Path of Beauty or the Path of Transcendence, their identities and backgrounds are still unclear.

They didn't seem to know each other, so they must be two different groups.

Unable to immediately determine who the good guys were, the "Pirate" went directly to the priest "Fox," who was the highest-ranking and best person present, and actively tried to curry favor with Iver.

Regardless, the priest is definitely one of us. Third Level priest is already the lowest-ranking bishop.

The fact that this young priest is ranked so high indicates that he has a good chance of being promoted to the Fourth Level and becoming one of the few archbishops in Avalon.

Furthermore, as a melee class, he is also easily injured. The Full Moon Ritual, progressing from three to four, will most likely involve intense combat unless you randomly get the "Path of Wisdom" scenario...

Therefore, currying favor with priests who possess powerful healing abilities became his core strategy.

Priests are usually not good at fighting either. They always need someone to protect them closely—so it's a win-win situation.

Furthermore, with the two key classes of Defender and Healer, it's easy to recruit other teammates. In this way, they can become the proactive party.

... You're quite clever.

Iver, who was sitting comfortably in the chief seat, raised his eyebrows with interest.

He sensed the other party's goodwill. Although not entirely certain, the "Pirate" seemed to have a vague idea of Iver's identity.

"... Mr. Pirate, are you from the Bureau of Supervision?"

Thinking of this, Iver asked gently, "May I know which city you were born in?"

"I am from Midsummer County."

The Pirate replied, "I was born by the sea."

It sounded like the truth, according to Iver's intuition.

But without a doubt, this is a lie.

Iver immediately discerned the opponent's biggest flaw from a logical standpoint—since the "Pirate" was sandwiched between Iver, Isabel, and Ibn, he could only be on Glass Island, and should not be far from the Silver and Tin Palace.

Clearly, the Pirate were unaware that Isabel and Ibn were on Glass Island.

He believed they were somewhere else in Avalon, which is why he subconsciously told such a lie to hide their true location. This statement directly revealed his perspective.

This is actually quite normal.

Whether it's Minister of Everything Iver, Queen Isabel, or Ibn, the Court Ritualist, their specific levels of cultivation are certainly not something a mere inspector could know.

He was already quite clever to be able to vaguely guess from Iver's age and aura that "Fox" might be Iver. He could never possibly guess the identity of their young Queen directly from Third Level Path of Beauty ascensionist—in his view, the Queen's Promotion Ritual would definitely be guarded by a the Great Collective of loyal royal elites.

Furthermore, Isabel had only been a superhuman for a short time; she had seen the newspapers when she first became one. To have reached the Fourth Level in less than six months was practically impossible to outsiders.

From this perspective, it can be concluded that the "Pirate" are not in the core circle of Glass Island.

Isabel was also silently analyzing the "Pirate's" identity—

Third Level inspector is generally considered the strongest in the inspectorate. Based on his age, he should be a Bureau of Supervision.

His posture suggests a military background. However, he's an inspector, not Light Cavalry, indicating he's from the army. The Bureau of Supervision on Glass Island is Third Level, male, middle-aged, former soldier, and nicknamed "Pirate"...

... Is that Director Kent from the White Queen District?

A name came to mind for Isabel.

When the thought popped into Isabel's head, her intuition told her that she was probably right.

It wasn't that she guessed accurately. Rather, Isabel had only personally met a very small number of inspectors.

And among the surveillance personnel she knew, there just happened to be someone who matched all the keywords.

... So, with Sherlock absent, their group is short one person. Should she reveal her identity to "the Pirate"? Isabel thought to herself, glancing at Iver. Seeing Iver shake his head slightly, she understood.

Iver didn't want the "Pirate" to know his identity... he was confident. But Iver's nature was to seek stability; he liked to unite those he needed to unite—when lacking power, Iver was always adept at drawing strength from others. Yet now he had voluntarily given up the opportunity to directly bind the "Pirate" to his side.

Is it because of Mr. "Olive" that he has the confidence?

No, to be more precise...

It was because Iver believed that "Pirate" might oppose the path of "beauty" or "transcendence," so in order to secure Mr. Olive's position, he did not want Pirate to join his camp, nor did he want to use his authority to force the other party to give up his promotion.

Isabel keenly grasped Iver's thoughts.

—So, Mr. Olive really is Mr. Ibn!

With just one sentence, Isabel instantly deduced the true identities of her two teammates.

This made Isabel lick her lips with unusual satisfaction.

It's a real shame that Sherlock isn't here.

Isabel felt a little disappointed.

Sherlock said her reasoning lacked logic—but in hindsight, it was quite accurate! When Isabel first met Sherlock during the Promotion Ritual, Sherlock, unaware of her true identity, mocked her several times for being unintelligent and illogical, and even said to Iver that "allies on the Path of Beauty are unreliable" —Isabel held a grudge!

Since then, she has been quietly waiting for an opportunity to defeat Sherlock in a field where Sherlock excels.

There's no need for Sherlock to admit defeat; it's enough if he's surprised or exclaims in amazement.

If we miss this opportunity, who knows when the next one will be?

Sherlock could accompany Iver to the Theocracy, while she was confined to Avalon...

I wish I weren't the Queen.

Or, if Avalon were no longer there...

Such a lingering thought suddenly popped into Isabel's mind.

But she shook her head sharply, banishing the terrible thought.

Avalon is gone... She can't even imagine what that would be like.

All she knew was that it would leave many people homeless and living a life worse than death.

... But why did she suddenly have such a thought? Isabel wondered.